JUST LOOK AT YOUR SELF
All the big and little ways your head little tattles about your health Time was when your friendly neighbourhood G.P. examined tenderly and made a diagnosis, without the help of sophisticated machines. His senses and your own sense organs were his tools. You can do the same and get a head start on him. Here’s how to look in the mirror and tell what may be going on inside you….
HEADS FIRST Your scalp is showing through Studies done at Harvard Medical School a few years ago, revealed that men with vertex male pattern pattern balding stand a greater chance of coronary artery disease than men with a mane. If the progression of baldness is rapid i.e. you’re losing a lot of hair suddenly the risk goes up even further. (Early onset baldness is also believed to be a signicant omen for heart disease in the future.) There are 2 theories: One, the genes for baldness and the genes for heart disease are inherited together as a package. And two, elevated levels of the male hormones that contribute to baldness may increase the risk of blood clots and plaque buildup in the arteries. Getting treated for baldness won’t reduce your odds of getting heart disease but lifestyle measures like eating a healthy, balanced and varied diet, being active and not smoking, will. You have a wide, round head People with heads that resemble a partially deflated soccer ball have shorter airways, which are easier to obstruct, according to orthodontic experts at Case Western Reserve University’s school of dentistry. That puts you at risk for sleep apnea, which can cut your energy, torch your memory, set you up for heart disease, and make you impotent. Your doctor can help you with a diagnosis and refer you to a sloop specialist. Leave your noggin the way it is, though.
ELOQUENT EYES The eyes are the windows of the soul, it’s said. They are also the first to put out clues on the state of your body. Read the signs: Blood shot You’re tired, and alcoholic, lack sleep, have a fever or High Blood Pressure. Bloodshot eyes may also mean you’re taking too much aspirin for those repeated hangovers. Aspirin slows clotting and thins your blood, and that ends up flooding the small vessels in your eyes. Yellow Hepatitis, liver disease or jaundice, especially if the hue is seen in your skin as well. Confirm with a blood and urine test. The liver is a noncomplaning organ, so most people don’t know they have a problem until the damage is advanced. Dirty yellow Your occupation is colouring them. Wear a mask sunglasses. Turgid (i.e. muddy) could be glaucoma. Get tested fast for this inreversible vision destroying eye condition. Bulging a thyroid condition. Get tested. Puffy your kidneys are malfunctioning. Check out your urine output. Disappearing eyebrows and eyebrows and eyelashes leprosy, which is not confined to beggars. You need a microscopic examination of your skin. A painful lump on the upper or low eyelid A stye boil caused by an infected hair follicle. Use warm compresses to hasten the pus drainge White bumps around the eyelids These uglies are cholesterol deposits, not acne or warts. Once there, they stay put, unless removed surgically. A whitish colored ring along the outer edge of your cornea. It’s called arc us senilis. As we age, we all get this a little bit But if you’re in your 30s or 40s it’s likely you have high cholesterol. That white line is cholesterol lodging in the fine tissues of your corneas. Alternatively the white band could signify a serious vitamin A deficiency which can lead to blindness. Get tested. Red spot outside the cornea worms or TB. Rule out both, in turn. Sudden appearance of bright red swathe in the white If it’s in both eyes and itching, it could be conjunctivitis. One eye? You broke a capillary, while exercising maybe. Relax. It’ll go away on its own in a week. But if it appeared for no rhyme or reason, have your blood pressure tested. Dryness Too much computer work, dehydration, or Sjogren’s syndrome (an autoinmmune condition). The eyes are the first things that dry up. Rehydrate with artificial tear drops. Droopy eyelids if this happens when you’re exhausted it could be myasthenia gravis (remember Amitabh Bachchan?). Have it evaluated with a physician.
UNDER THE SKIN Lines may reveal your age but there are other tales that yur skin can tell. Your face is pale. So are your lips, tongue, mouth lining. Anaemia occurs when your blood has a below normal level of haemoglobin, which prevents your body from getting enough oxygen and makes your deprived heart work harder. Get tested. You may need supplemental iron. Your skin looks like a Lunar landscape. Crows feet, age spots, sagging jowls, thin dry lips, cheek veins make their appearance as Time marches on. But what really ruins the skin more than birthdays is exposure to UV light, smoking, pollution and of course, stress. Oxidation, a natural chemical reaction gives rise to free radicals that cause the breakdown of elastin and collagen. Wear sunglasses, use a sunscreen (SPF 15+) with UVA and UVB blocks daily. Reapply every tow hours if you are out in the sun. Try to get plenty of natural sunscreen the antioxidant vitamins A, C and E from diet or a multivitamin. You have more hair on your face than your husband It could be Poly Cystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS). The condition, which affects 7% to 10% women, is characterized by acne, facial hair and a deep voice; regular periods and infertility, and puts you at risk for insulin resistance and diabetes. PCOS victims tend to have high levels of male hormones which can be pick up in a blood test. An ultrasonography will detect enlarged ovaries with fluid filled cysts. Treatment involves medication to balance the hormones; in serious cases, may necessitate removal of ovaries.
THE REVEALING MOUTH Your gob can tell a lot event before it utters a single word. The insides are brown or black You’re a chain smoker, but you already know that. What you may not know is that you’re a prime candidate for mouth cancer. Watch out for a white patch that does not go away. Your lops are swollen You are allergic to food or drink or drink or lipstick or medication. Apply a soothing calamine lotion and take an antihistamine. Nail the miscreant by a process of elimination. Your lips are blue Your oxygen intake is dangerously low and your heart needs a physician’s evaluation. You harbor white grainy spots surrounded by red rings inside your cheeks Why, you have measles. Small red spots have invaded your palate If accompanied sore throat fever and swollen lymph glands it could be mononucleosis, the “kissing disease”. Round white spots with a red border mean stress induced canker sores. Get some “Magic Formula” from your doctor to numb the pain and coat the mouth. Hard edged sores can be cancerous. Fluid filled sores mean sex related Herpes Simplex triggered by sunburn, food, anxiety, or syphilis Don’t attempt self medication. Whitish patches on the tongue could be oral candidiasis (thrush) or HIV A bald smooth tongue is glossitis, an inflammation caused by pernicious anaemia, specifically vitamin B 12 deficiency. A dry tongue means that you are dehydrated. Swollen gums could be scurvy (Vitamin C deficiency). Fungal infection way at the back of your tongue could mean that you’re a steoid inhaler and have forgotten to gargle when you’re done. Bleeding gums can point to leukemia or diabetes. Check them out with a blood test. A blue line on the gum margin could mean lead poisoning, from an ayurvedic drug, sold by an unscrupulous paractitioner. You breath is yucky and your tongue feels like sheepskin. Halistosis or bad breath is a combination of rotten food lodged between your teeth and indifferent oral hygiene. What’s more, if you are addicted to garlic and onion, the volatile oils pass from the bloodstream into the lungs to create a noxious odour. Brush and floss after each meal and when you weak up in the morning. Use a tongue scraper, chew some sugar free gum. A chlorophyll based mouthwash gives temporary relief.
TOOTH TRUTHS Worn out teeth You’re a tooth grinder (bruxism in Dentalese). Wear a mouth guard at night and concentrate on not doing it when you’re awake. A dark grey tooth It’s dead, because of damaged pulp (the core of the tooth). Get it treated stat Mottled There’s excessive fluoride (yes, there can be too much) in your water. Descoloured You as a child, or your pregnant mother, was given the antibiotic tetracycline. Worn out The chlorine in the swimming pool has attacked your teeth. Or you have bulimia (binge eating followed by vomiting) or GERD. Acidic digestive juices are a havoc on your choppers.
FOLLOW YOUR NOSE Red tipped could mean a fondness for the bottle or rosacea (adult acne). See a dermatologist for the second. Crooked could mean a deviated septum which needs decongestants and or a surgical procedure to straighten it. A bump on the bridge could be a benign tumour, which will show up in an MRI. Loss of smell could be due to a head injury or nasal polyps. The latter can be excised surgically.
